Need help with soft contrast developer

Hello guys,

I just got a few boxes of AGFA graded paper, some are graded 4, i just tested them and they are working just fine!

But I have a question regarding the contrast, I always use multigrade paper and usually work around grade 2.5 / 3 so I find grade 4 a little bit too contrasty. So I was thinking of buying/mixing some soft developer, will this be effective with the grade 4 paper?

Or maybe any other ways of reducing the contrast?

Thanks a lot

Kodak used to make a soft working developer called Selectol. Fortunately the formula is available.

Kodak Selectol Soft Paper Developer

Distilled water (50°C) ................ 750 ml
Calgon* ............................... 6.0 g
Metol ................................. 6.0 g
Sodium sulfite (anhy) ................. 25.0 g
Sodium carbonate (mono) ............... 37.0 g
Potassium bromide ..................... 1.0 g
Distilled water to make ............... 1.0 l

For use dilute 1+1 or 1+2 depending on amount of contrast desired.

(((( corrected per Ian's comment )))

Gerald... Is Calgon really necessary if the formula is mixed for immediate use? Thanks, Fred

In my experience, mixing that much (and less) sulfite with hard water can turn it quite murky within minutes, so you can't always skip Calgon, or any other water softener.

Gerald C Koch said:

Kodak used to make a soft working developer called Selectol Soft. Fortunately the formula is available.

Kodak Selectol Soft Paper Developer

Distilled water (50°C) ................ 750 ml
Calgon* ............................... 6.0 g
Metol ................................. 6.0 g
Sodium sulfite (anhy) ................. 25.0 g
Sodium carbonate (mono) ............... 37.0 g
Potassium bromide ..................... 0.5 g
Distilled water to make ............... 1.0 l

For use dilute 1+1 or 1+2 depending on amount of contrast desired.

Click to expand...

Freestyle still offers this developer as Select Soft.

http://www.freestylephoto.biz/750710-LegacyPro-Select-Soft-Paper-Developer-to-Make-1-Gallon

You might try "flashing " the paper, or even fogging it, its simple and worth a try.

Ozxplorer said:

Gerald... Is Calgon really necessary if the formula is mixed for immediate use? Thanks, Fred

Click to expand...

It would be useful if you use tap water for diluting the developer particularly if you have hard water.

Depending upon how much you want to reduce contrast you can use one (or more in combination) of the following:

Soft developer
Water (hot) 750 ml 
Metol 12 g 
Sodium Sulfite 36 g. 
Sodium Carbonate 30 g. 

Cold water to make 1 liter stock solution.

In use you dilute the stock 1:2 with water to make your working solution.

and/or use a water bath - develop for 1 minute and then place in a bath of plain water for 1 minute and return to developer. You can repeat the process often.

and/or pre-flash the paper (learning to do this has particular benefits as you can selectively soften parts of the image as desired.

Best of luck,

David
www.dsallen.de

The Kodak formula for Selectol Soft - D165 -contains 1 gm of Potassium Bromide, It's published in the Kodak Chemicals and Formulae handbook 1949.


D165 - Kodak Selectol Soft Paper Developer

Metol ........................ ......... 6.0 g
Sodium sulphite (anhy) ................ 25.0 g
Sodium carbonate (mono) ............ 37.0 g
Potassium bromide ...................... 1.0 g
Water to .................................. 1 litre

For use dilute 1+3

It doesn't keep well, a better alternative is the two part version of Ilford ID-3 which is the same developer


ILford ID-3 Two part Soft working developer

Part A
Metol ........................................ 12.0 g
Sodium sulphite (anhy) ................. 50.0 g
Water to ................................... 1 litre

Part B
Sodium carbonate (mono) ............. 75 g
Potassium bromide ...................... 2.0 g
Water to .................................... 1 litre

To use 1 Part a + 1 Part B + 6 Water


Ian

Isn't that Agfa paper old stock that is irreplaceable? If that is so it seems a waste to use it for general work when it is valuable as a hard paper grade. Why not use another, replaceable paper, for normal contrast work and save, or sell, the grade 4 Agfa?

Thanks for all the replies guys, I really appreciate it! Will give a try to these methods as soon as I hit the darkroom.

tedr1 said:

Isn't that Agfa paper old stock that is irreplaceable? If that is so it seems a waste to use it for general work when it is valuable as a hard paper grade. Why not use another, replaceable paper, for normal contrast work and save, or sell, the grade 4 Agfa?

Click to expand...

Basically because I like trying new papers, and don't have much money right now so I have to use what I have, I doubt it is valuable enough to sell anyways.

Ian Grant said:

The Kodak formula for Selectol Soft - D165 -contains 1 gm of Potassium Bromide, It's published in the Kodak Chemicals and Formulae handbook 1949.
Ian

Click to expand...

Interesting the version I posted was from www.cjballphotography.co.uk Christopher John Ball BA (Hons), M.A. some years ago.

Rechecking I find that the author does not now use the -S designation in the title. So either I misread the title or it has changed in the interim.

Gerald C Koch said:

Interesting the version I posted was from www.cjballphotography.co.uk Christopher John Ball BA (Hons), M.A. some years ago.

Click to expand...

I had a look and he calls that formula Selectol, when it's actually Selectol Soft, from memory D52 is the formula for Selectol which was a warm tone developer. There's a few Kodak formulae in Kodak Ltd (UK) publications that aren't in any equivalent Eastman Kodak (US) publications. Even in my short time in Photography there's been Kodak developers sold here in the UK that were never made, sold, or even published, in the US handbooks.

This difference in developers was a European approach to serious photography that was not really mirrored to any significant extent in the US. It's the switch from LF to miniature formats -pre WWII 120 is a miniature format There's also much more emphasis on on controlling tonality, image colour etc in Europe, far more Warm tone papers,

Ian